RUSSIA ARMS SALE HITS $10 BLN

STORY: RUSSIA ARMS SALE HITS $10 BLN DATELINE: Dec. 15, 2010 LENGTH: 0:00:52 LOCATION: Moscow VO A senior Russian official says the country's arms sales will surpass 10 billion U.S. dollars this year. This has set a new record after the former Soviet Union's disintegration. Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, who is in charge of military industries, said on Tuesday that Russia sells arms to more than 60 countries and that weapons exports will reach 10 billion U.S. dollars this year. He said Russia has new weapons orders from foreign customers exceeding 45 billion U.S. dollars. This marks the 11th straight year of increasing sales. Last year, Russia sold more than 8.5 billion U.S. dollars worth of weapons. It has been second only to the U.S. According to Russian government statistics, there has been a strong demand from nations including Venezuela and Algeria. Powered by www.newslook.com Producer : Xinhua News Agency